There is an awful lot to explain, in a post. And as a newbie, myself, I'd worry I gave bad advice. So, I would suggest you read Palmer's "How to Brew". I have found it to be my brew bible. A free, online, version is here: http://www.howtobrew.com/sitemap.html

Good luck!

__________________Appalachian Boys' Brewery

"There is an ancient Celtic axiom that says ‘Good people drink good beer.’ Which is true, then as now. Just look around you in any public barroom and you will quickly see: Bad people drink bad beer. Think about it." ~ Hunter S. Thompson

I know nothing about Beer Tools. But, if you look at Palmers book, the section titled "Your first all-grain batch" you see he suggests 1.5 quarts of strike water (for single rest) per pound of grain. For you that calculates to 4.875 gal (19.5 quarts) of water.

He goes on to say you will need 1.5 to 2X as much sparge water, as you used for the mash. This is assuming a fly sparge. After you drain your wort, you would begin the sparge (~ 170 F) and allow it to drain into your pot until you hit your volume. I assume you want about 6 gallons pre-boil. If that is the case, you are going to want a larger brew pot.

I hope this is helpful. If anybody sees that I have made mistakes, please correct me. I am always looking to learn, as well. Mike

__________________Appalachian Boys' Brewery

"There is an ancient Celtic axiom that says ‘Good people drink good beer.’ Which is true, then as now. Just look around you in any public barroom and you will quickly see: Bad people drink bad beer. Think about it." ~ Hunter S. Thompson

I know nothing about Beer Tools. But, if you look at Palmers book, the section titled "Your first all-grain batch" you see he suggests 1.5 quarts of strike water (for single rest) per pound of grain. For you that calculates to 4.875 gal (19.5 quarts) of water.

He goes on to say you will need 1.5 to 2X as much sparge water, as you used for the mash. This is assuming a fly sparge. After you drain your wort, you would begin the sparge (~ 170 F) and allow it to drain into your pot until you hit your volume. I assume you want about 6 gallons pre-boil. If that is the case, you are going to want a larger brew pot.

I hope this is helpful. If anybody sees that I have made mistakes, please correct me. I am always looking to learn, as well. Mike

yeah I find it helpful but I'm doing Batch sparging, meaning After I have my 4.88 gal of first runnings in the bot I need to mash the remaining of the water needed to complete the 6 gallons pre boil?

"There is an ancient Celtic axiom that says ‘Good people drink good beer.’ Which is true, then as now. Just look around you in any public barroom and you will quickly see: Bad people drink bad beer. Think about it." ~ Hunter S. Thompson

I wouldn't use the calculator that says you need 9 gallons sparge water. That would give you about 12 gallons.
Mash thickness is usually between 1 and 2 quarts per lb grain, so using 1.5 ~ 4.88 gallons.
A single infusion mash is usually all that is required with most malts.
At the end of the mash, I would recommend batch sparging.
Do you have a manifold or braid in the cooler to filter the runnings? If not, you will need to build one. See http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/ind..._to_a_mash_tun for details, or search for mash tun for other ideas.
At the end of the mash, you need to vorlauf 1 or 2 qt water. This consists of slowly draining some wort into a suitable sized container until you are not getting any grain particles, and then gently returning it to the top of the mash.
You can then drain the first runnings into the kettle. You can do this as fast as you want.
After you have collected your first runnings, you need to measure the volume you have collected. First, close the spigot, then subtract your first runnings volume from your required pre boil volume, and that gives you the amount of sparge water you need. If you don't know the required pre boil volume, then guess at 6.5 gallons for your first try, and you can adjust that figure if necessary for the next batch.
You can either to the sparge in one batch or two. If you do it in two batches, try to keep the amount of sparge water for each batch approximately the same.
To sparge, check that you have closed the spigot, then add the required amount of sparge water at a temperature of about 180F to the grist, stir really well for a few minutes and check the temperature. If the temp is less than 170F, then you can use hotter sparge water next time. If it's over 170F, then you used sparge water that was too hot. After stirring, wait for 5 minutes or so, vorlauf as before, and drain into the kettle. Repeat with the second batch if you are using two batches.

Hope this helps, and good luck

-a.

__________________
There are only 10 types of people in this world. Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

Good to see someone who understands it, respond. Makes me feel better, and taught me some things. I may try batch sparging, at some point, but there is something about fly sparging that appeals to me.

__________________Appalachian Boys' Brewery

"There is an ancient Celtic axiom that says ‘Good people drink good beer.’ Which is true, then as now. Just look around you in any public barroom and you will quickly see: Bad people drink bad beer. Think about it." ~ Hunter S. Thompson

I wouldn't use the calculator that says you need 9 gallons sparge water. That would give you about 12 gallons.
Mash thickness is usually between 1 and 2 quarts per lb grain, so using 1.5 ~ 4.88 gallons.
A single infusion mash is usually all that is required with most malts.
At the end of the mash, I would recommend batch sparging.
Do you have a manifold or braid in the cooler to filter the runnings? If not, you will need to build one. See http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/ind..._to_a_mash_tun for details, or search for mash tun for other ideas.
At the end of the mash, you need to vorlauf 1 or 2 qt water. This consists of slowly draining some wort into a suitable sized container until you are not getting any grain particles, and then gently returning it to the top of the mash.
You can then drain the first runnings into the kettle. You can do this as fast as you want.
After you have collected your first runnings, you need to measure the volume you have collected. First, close the spigot, then subtract your first runnings volume from your required pre boil volume, and that gives you the amount of sparge water you need. If you don't know the required pre boil volume, then guess at 6.5 gallons for your first try, and you can adjust that figure if necessary for the next batch.
You can either to the sparge in one batch or two. If you do it in two batches, try to keep the amount of sparge water for each batch approximately the same.
To sparge, sheck that you have closed the spigot, then add the required amount of sparge water at a temperature of about 180F to the grist, stir really well for a few minutes and check the temperature. If the temp is less than 170F, then you can use hotter sparge water next time. If it's over 170F, then you used sparge water that was too hot. After stirring, wait for 5 minutes or so, vorlauf as before, and drain into the kettle. Repeat with the second batch if you are using two batches.

Hope this helps, and good luck

-a.

OK this is great really puts things in simpler terms for me!

Horseshoot, nothing wrong with fly sparging just another technique.

Thanks everyone for their help. Going to the LHBS to pick up a few last minute items then getting ready to brew tomorrow.

Any more tips welcomed, thanks again!
I'll let you know how it turns out.

I just wanted to add that you need to be aware of that the tun will absorb some heat. Add your strike water , at 10° higher than your target, to the tun first and let the tun heat and the water drop to your strike temp. This should take about ten minutes.
Next, add your grain, stir like crazy, hit your mash temp, and have a beer!